For The Love Of Family
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: Determined to find her biological family, Harper decides to head for Port Charles... but when she and Brayden run into someone who Harper thought was dead, will they find out the truth?


_**October 13th 2004, Paris, France…**_

_16 year old Harper Eckert was walking through a park after a long and exhausting day, unwilling to bring herself to go home after a bad fight with Sly the previous night… and tripped over a rock, catching herself from falling._

_"This day just needs to end already!" Harper muttered._

_But as she stopped to pick up her dropped book bag, she let out a scream after she was grabbed and her scream was cut off by a masked man clamping his hand over her mouth and her biting him before she stomped on his foot and grabbed the blue and red bag before she ran for it, screaming for help even as she was tripped up, turned onto her back and pinned down and thrashing around as the attacker ripped the lower half of her school blouse up._

_"Stay still, you teasing and taunting harlot!" The attacker yelled._

_"Stop! Get off me, GET OFF ME!" Harper screamed before she was sliced with a knife._

_Her screams were answered when a man in his late 20s snatched the masked attacker off of her and slammed him into the tree, Harper closing her eyes in fright as the man continued to attack the masked attacker who had been targeting the teenager._

_"Thought you were gonna have your way with her despite her kicking and screaming, huh?! Don't think so, you sick bastard! You go anywhere near her or any young girl or woman again, I will hunt you down and rip your damn spine out! Are we clear?!" The man threatened._

_"We're clear…" The masked attacker responded in fear for his life, the younger man throwing him into traffic and letting a car run him over._

_He turned to Harper in a gentle manner and crouched down to the scared girl, who opened her eyes._

_"He won't be hurting you anymore, little one…" The man reassured her as he pressed a washcloth to the wound under her right eye. "What's your name?" He asked._

_"Harper Eckert…" Harper responded in a trembling tone._

_"You're gonna be okay, Harper. I'm Brayden Lavery… I'm gonna get you to a hospital." Brayden explained before he helped Harper up and to his car after handing her book bag to her._

_Hospital Lariboisière Ap-Hp was visible by its illuminated sign and the 28 year old parked the car and helped the injured 16 year old into the ER, Harper leaning against Brayden as her being pulled down had caused her to injure her left ankle._

_While she was being treated and had explained her story to the police, who wrote it down as well as writing down what Brayden had witnessed for verification, the nurse called Jenny, who rushed down to the hospital and immediately hugged her niece._

_"Where are Sly and Uncle Paul?" Harper questioned after they had let go, the wound under her eye stitched up._

_"Sly's out with friends and Paul got held up at work." Jenny explained before turning to Brayden. "Thank you for protecting my niece." She responded with a kind smile._

_"It's no problem. I saw what was going on, I wasn't going to let that coward hurt her." Brayden replied before he lightly rubbed Harper's right shoulder._

_Neither knew it at the time what their chance encounter would lead to but Jenny could see that Harper had made a good friend._

_Even if he was older than Harper…_

**Present time**_**, December 14th 2004…**_

Harper held the picture in her hands again, thinking back to the previous night.

_"You have a twin out there?" Brayden asked after looking at a faded picture of two newborn sisters._

_"I managed to track down her whereabouts, she and my biological family are in a town in New York… that's why I haven't spoken to my adoptive brother lately. I haven't told anyone else but I've saved up some money and am going over there to find them." Harper explained._

_"Not by yourself, you're not. I'm going with you." Brayden responded._

_"I couldn't ask you to do that, your life is here." Harper replied._

_"I'm not gonna let a 16 year old girl wander around a country she doesn't know well. I know we've only known each other for a few weeks but I couldn't live with the guilt if anything happens to you and I know that the family you grew up with wouldn't be able to either. Sly did lie to you about your biological family but he's your older brother and he lied because he's scared of losing you." Brayden explained._

_"Alright. We'll both go." Harper replied before they hugged…_

"Hey."

The young girl turned to her half asleep travelling companion, smiling slightly.

"Couldn't go back to sleep?" Brayden asked.

"Too nervous to… what if when I get there, the door gets slammed into my face? If they've accepted that one of their twin children had supposedly died, this is gonna be a hell of a shock to them." Harper replied, Brayden lightly rubbing Harper's right shoulder.

"Just stay calm and explain to them what you know about why you were taken from the hospital and put in an adoption center. That's all you can really do, little lady." Brayden responded.

The plane had slowed down, indicating that they had reached their destination… and the two unbuckled, getting out of their seats and grabbing their duffel bags.

Walking through the terminal and into the airport, they looked outside and saw the snowfall had increased.

Taking her red beanie hat off, Harper put it away and tied her long honey brown hair back into a ponytail and the indoor lighting making the blonde highlights obvious… she readjusted her red and black plaid scarf, her and Brayden exiting the airport after he got the rental car keys since Harper was too young to rent the vehicle herself.

It wasn't too long before they found a place to stay at, walking into the Metro Court hotel.

"We just barely beat the snowstorm they said was going to complete blanket the Northeastern area." Harper replied.

"Barely doesn't begin to describe it, Harper." Brayden responded.

Lorenzo walked into the hotel to escape the snow, hoping Lois had taken what he told her well… and went wide eyed, walking over.

"Lily?!" Lorenzo responded, Harper turning to him… and turning panicked.

"Luis?!" Harper replied, Brayden shielding the teenager.

He knew he still had a lot more to learn about her.


End file.
